01732 759725 44 VOX POP continued... Many local businesses are now upgrading their printers to more featurerich connected MFPs and are relying on us for help with data and access security and connecting staff who work from home provide the ability to securely manage data in the cloud while employing strict access controls to ensure only authorised personnel can access critical data that is pertinent to them. Jon Palin: Our customers are being encouraged to integrate robust security measures, using our experience in IT services and managed print services. The MFPs we provide offer a wide range of data encryption and secure storage, document management solutions, remote monitoring and facilities for secure printing. With IT services there are more factors customers need to be aware of. In particular, IT services can enhance the role MPS plays, in our customers’ business or school, by offering continuous monitoring of the whole network infrastructure with a specific leaning towards cyber security, data integrity and managing their systems to maintain compliance within the growing number of industry regulations and standards. By providing our combined services and making sure they are compliant, we are also helping customers to reduce the risk of any legal or financial issues or unnecessary disruptions. Paul Kamlesh: As a managed print services supplier, we are becoming more aware that after cost-effective printing systems – which is always at the top of the agenda – the two biggest criteria our customers demand, are for us to provide data security and improved productivity. We advise the businesses and particularly the schools, about ways they can achieve both with MPS, because of the many in-built features for security and productivity and how, with us managing their equipment remotely, we are adding another layer of both of these requirements. In light of the new PSTI (Product Specification & Telecommunication Infrastructure) Act, we are working more closely with our OEM suppliers, as the responsibility for compliance with this new act will fall on us both. OEMs are now banned from using and allowing weak or easily guessable default passwords, and we both have to share a timeframe with our customers, within which they can expect to receive support once a model goes out of production. Our OEM suppliers have issued their own statement of compliance that we are also bound by. Arwel Griffiths: Our customers vary, from small local businesses and schools to large organisations and we are seeing that everyone is investing in some sort of new technology. The schools are now mostly smart device-based and use our machines to print, copy or scan teaching materials and run their day-to day business activities. Many local businesses are now upgrading their printers to more feature-rich connected MFPs and are relying on us for help with data and access security and connecting staff who work from home. The larger organisations tend to tell us what they need, as most of them have in-house IT teams who are good at forward planning and keeping on top of the latest technology. We are proactively helping our customers by understanding their specific needs, tailoring the print solutions we provide to them, and we can analyse what is happening, on each machine, with our remote managed print service. John Green: We see the impact on information security as both an opportunity and a challenge. As time has progressed the range of MFPs, telecoms and IT software we provide have become much more sophisticated. The MFPs are built with more advanced security features as standard, our VoIP services are increasingly using encryption to secure voice data when people are speaking, which is great news all round although, in the last month, the responsibility for added security has increased, both for us, as a supplier, and our OEM partners, following the PSTI Act coming into force. However, it’s not a problem for us because we have always been quick to adapt to changes, and are already compliant, and we think it’s excellent that the UK is the first country to pass an Act like this. It just means we need to spend time communicating and reassuring our customers that use a combination of all our services and those who are a managed print, IT services, telecoms or office supplies customer – and some need more assistance than others. Daniel Gilbert: Emerging technologies are both a benefit and a challenge for information security. Businesses and their technology partners need to stay vigilant and proactive in adopting these technologies while ensuring robust security practices are in place to mitigate potential threats. The adoption of a zero trust architecture has emerged over the last three to five years and is transforming how security frameworks are designed and implemented. Emerging technologies supporting a zero trust architecture by providing tools for continuous verification and monitoring will prove their worth. PrintIT Reseller: Two-thirds of the companies polled say tech transformation is vital to the survival of their business. To what extent are emerging technologies impacting information security? Arwel Griffiths
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